Oil change- when do you do it?

[TXBobcat]

Ford manual says to change oil (15 qts) every 7500 miles normal use and 5000 for severe use. Much of my miles are just normal use but I consider pulling my trailer I change it on the severe use. I also change my transmission oil & filter every year, which includes the oil in the converter. I also have the transaxle and differentials.

Just for my information, why would you send a sample of your oil to a lab and have them tell you it needs to be changed. You are spending about 50% of what it would be to change it out and go on..

 

[nhunter]

nhunter,

Is there an equation or chart that you use that says "change the oil when you reach ____ hours of operation time?

The PowerStroke Diesel website equates 25 miles of driving for every 1 hour of idle time as falling under the Special Service Interval.

A true story .. I was picking up one of my trucks last year from the Ford Dealer. There was a guy in Official-looking PowerStroke Diesel Mechanic's garb at the desk and on the phone with Detroit. Service writer tells me that they have a 2008 F-350 wrecker with 6.4L in the shop with only 11,000+ miles on the odometer and the motor is toast. Owner says he's only 1,000 miles over oil change interval time; Yeah, for normal Operations!

The factory tech plugged into the brain box and found out that since leaving the factory, this truck has actually operated the equivalent of 35,000 miles due to excessive idling; on the original oil!!

I never heard how they remedied this little situation but I'll have to ask.

I read it in the Powerstroke owners manual. It is in a section on stationary use for pto's and the likes.

The tech likely didn't have to plug in a box to find out the hours on the wrecker, it's right on the instrument panel. I bet in the near future warranties will be years / miles / hours. Similar to a heavy duty use motor ie Cummins, Detroit, Cat. Probably to get people like me who leave them running to avoid freezuing to death!

 

[Duramax1]

I wait for the DIC to tell me that an oil change should be performed. It is GM who is warranting the engine.

I get the impression from some people that changing the oil, unrelated to engine hours, temperatures, mileage, towing loads and whatever else goes into the equation for the DIC message, is like going to Confession ie. the more times you do it, the better you feel! I guess it works for you but I would rather put some variables into the equation based on current engineering principles rather than outdated motherhood anecdotal theories.

 

[truknutt]

Duramax1,

Unfortunately, not all trucks on the road have a DIC onboard to tell them when service is required (I use my dealership's Service Writer) and because there are sooooo many variables in the equation it just becomes plain easier to change at regular prescribed intervals.

I have to ask; what is meant by "...outdated motherhood anecdotal theories"? I think I know what you mean but my crypto may not be sync-ing up!!!

 

[jnbhobe]

oil changes

I usually have about 40 cars and trucks under my control. I change the oil at 3000mi on the gas engines and 5000mi on diesels. I have never had an engine problem. Fresh oil is the cheapest maintaince I can get. JON

 

[truknutt]

What do you do with all that waste oil? Sell it? Burn it for heat?

 

[jnbhobe]

The guys at my service center have a waste oil furnace, But my oil isn't near enough to keep the garage warm in this part of the country. They do have two wood furnaces too. JON

 

[Retired CPO]

synthetics are the way to go but not because they extend the oil change frequencies

Synthetics are the only way to go today because you can extend the oil change frequencies plus extend & protect your engine better. All I use today is below. Valvoline Premium Blue SAE 15w-40 Diesel Motor Oil, they top on the Market it cost about $75 per case of 4 gals. but it's worth it! as it is 4X better than Mobile One. Oh & I only spent 22yrs working with high temp oils in Jet engines to learn the differences.

Valvoline Premium Blue SAE 15w-40 ...

Premium Blue® Extreme provides fuel economy benefits for on-highway Class-8 trucks. Statistically significant test results find up to 3% maximum improvement in fuel economy using SAE J1321/TMC RMP 1103, Type II techniques*. Testing was conducted by a leading independent laboratory.

 

[MurrayN.]

Amsoil tested and proven

I too am a big believer in Amsoil products because we use them in everything possible on our farm. From the 500 hp Cat semi to all different sizes of tractors (130 - 535 hp), from our 25 hp auger engines to all our gas or diesel vehicles, we use it in everything, and have never had anything but good luck. We have a couple of Duramax's and we only change once a year but rarely put on more than 12-13000 miles / year, and when you send in the oil sample to the lab after one year it tells you that the oil does not need to be changed.My Honda gas van gets changed once a year on about 12-14000 miles. Although if you are stretching it a bit I would recommend changing your filter every 6 months. Interesting thing happened to us. We had a no-brain hired hand for a while that thought that he knew everything, and he ran 2 tanks of straight gas through our gas weed trimmer before we caught him. The small engine shop said that the only thing that saved that motor was that we had been using Amsoil 2 cycle oil before this happened. This stuff is worth the money.

 

[Bob&Patty]

To answer a question about sending in oil samples. From what I remember when I was trucking. The oil sample checks the cylinders for piston ring leakage. This indicates engine wear and how much raw fuel is in the oil. Jon might weigh in on this. My 2 cts

 

[rumaco]

Bypass

I rum Amzoil and have for years with a bypass system and change oil only after the lab that tests it tells me to. I am at 43,000 give or take on my present oil and going strong. Bypass is the key and filters extremely small particals.

 

[rumaco]

Lefty, I am going to guess that if you are getting an oil change at a neighborhood Pennzoil change place, you must be driving a small gasser. Oil changes on my diesel run over $50 each at my Dodge dealership.

I will consider the AMSOIL solution once my warranty runs out on my diesel.

Amzoil will NOT void a warranty on engines/transmissions or rear ends! Food for thought

 

[lwmcguir]

Synthetics are the only way to go today because you can extend the oil change frequencies plus extend & protect your engine better. All I use today is below. Valvoline Premium Blue SAE 15w-40 Diesel Motor Oil, they top on the Market it cost about $75 per case of 4 gals. but it's worth it! as it is 4X better than Mobile One. Oh & I only spent 22yrs working with high temp oils in Jet engines to learn the differences.

Valvoline Premium Blue SAE 15w-40 ...

Premium Blue® Extreme provides fuel economy benefits for on-highway Class-8 trucks. Statistically significant test results find up to 3% maximum improvement in fuel economy using SAE J1321/TMC RMP 1103, Type II techniques*. Testing was conducted by a leading independent laboratory.

Curious how many folks with Power Strokes are using synthetic or synthetic blend oil. Ford only recommends it for lower temps. I change oil based on the hour meter. Every 200 hours which is a bit over 7500 miles some times and less other times. The power stroke injectors fire from hp oil pressure so it is important.

 

[rumaco]

oil

Well the oil companies have got us believing that we need to change oil and often. Here is my take, some from experience and some from just opinion. I have had powerstrokes since they started and have heard that 15W40 is the needed oil......pooh!!! Both my present rigs have bypass systems on them and I run 5W30HD deisel synthetic. A bypass will filter out the danger (dirt) to a .05 micron and will completeley filter 17 qts in 2 hours. Bypass means a small amount bypasses the other filter and runs through the big filter as you travel. Now 5W30 seems light but it is designed for deisels and allows faster removal of heat and gets in and out of the smaller parts quicker. I have 237,000 miles on my work puller and it has 37,000 on the present oil. I have 177,000 on my 5er puller and 43,000 on the oil. Oil itself does not break down only the additives do. I take samples every 10,000 miles and send it to a lab who will tell you everything about the engines health and I have never done an engine repair on my trucks, ever! I have never replace an injector and all pressures are as they were the day I bought them. The oil remains a brown color rather than a black color that most deisels have. Just my two cents worth.

 

[lwmcguir]

Sounds like you have been there and done that. I know from experience in the Paper Mill years ago, we changed oil on a lot of the drives that ran 24/7 every year during our outage. They were old then and are still running. Keeping the oil clean has to be the primary item. I use the best filter I can buy with the teflon valves for my cars. The PSD, ( I have several) get Motocraft filters usually.

Thanks for the post. Somthing to consider and It is really good to hear you have excellent results with the lower viscosity oil.

 

[yondering]

A word of caution if you have extended service insurance. Just went through this. ALWAYS keep receipts of oil changes no matter when you do it. Had a heated argument with service provider over GM issue of changing when computer said to. The ESI said every 3000 when towing, We change ours every 5000 regardless of DIC, using Rotella 15/40. ESI was satisfied when I produced receipts for every oil change since truck was new. Best wishes, God Bless ya all, Al W

 

[PUG]

After researching oil wear tests on line, I have switched to Amsoil pure synthetic and use their filters. I now change once a year or 15,000 miles. In the long run it is cheaper than changing every 3,500 miles as before and the wear tests are far better. Look on the web for synthetic oil wear tests that also compare regular oil.

 

[JohnDar]

Having analyzed more oil samples than I can remember, many years ago, I believe the only one benefiting from religiously changing your oil every 3000 miles is the guy pulling a camel trailer behind his "Benz.

I follow the DIC in my vehicles as to oil changes. When oil life remaining gets to the 20 - 25% range, I go for it. This info is from the OnStar site:

The GM Oil Life System is not a mileage counter. It is actually a computer-based software algorithm that determines when to change oil based on engine operating conditions. There is no actual oil condition sensor. Rather, the computer continuously monitors engine-operating conditions to determine when to change oil. Over the years, millions of test miles have been accumulated to calibrate the system for a variety of vehicles. The system was first introduced in 1988 and is now on more than 10 million GM vehicles.

 

[PandBStandiford]

The owners manual for my 2001 Ford says to change the oil at a 3000 mile interval if used in severe duty environment, short trips, and specifically if you tow a trailer for more than 1000 of those miles. I change mine at 3000 mile intervals because of the towing and environment where I live.

Dennis

Just got 2008 F350 with 6.4L PowerStroke. I popped in the DVD that was in the console and began watching the recommended maintenance. Under normal operating conditions, the recommended oil change interval is 10,000 miles.
This drops to 5,000 miles under dusty conditions, towing (more than 1,000 miles), operating below a certain temperature and excessive idling of the engine.

 

[palebluedot]

In October 2005 (right after hurricane Katrina) I talked to a guy at a local truck stop that was pulling a FEMA trailer to Purvis, MS. He had a 1995 (12 valve) Dodge Cummins that he normally contracted towing rv's from Indiana to dealers all across the country. He had just turned 900K miles on the truck so naturally I had to ask a few questions. He bought the truck new and always changed the engine oil every 10K miles and used Shell Rotella T 15W40. Valve adjustment every 100K miles other than that never a wrench on the engine, 2 rebuilt transmissions and 1 rear end.